Track Listing

1. Aghatha (17:34)
2. Big Church (09:43)
3. Hunting & Gathering(Cydonia) (10:02)
4. Alice (16:21)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1973 in Music
• Released on: 2009-05-18
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: CD
• Dimensions: .24 pounds

CD Description
Practitioners of the glacial school of extreme-volume music, Sunn O))) are the leading exponents of doom, the darkest and heaviest of all metal sub genres. While the group's black-cloaked garb and ritual theatrics have firmly aligned them to the imagery and aesthetic of metal, leader Stephen O'Malley's numerous forays into noise and experimental music, and member Greg Anderson's sideline as label head of Southern Lord (the leading label for adventurous metal) has fashioned the duo as gatekeepers to metal's uncharted paths. MONOLITHS AND DIMENSIONS, the seventh Sun O))) album, continues the monolithic low-end throb and stentorian guitar drones the duo are best known for, and features an array of past collaborators (Attila Csihar, Oren Ambarchi) and brand new guests, Julian Priester (trombonist for Herbie Hancock and Sun Ra), Dylan Carlson (Earth), and avant-garde composer and violinist Eyvind Kang.

Customer Reviews

A Light In The Dark
'Monoliths & Dimensions' is the latest full length from Sunn O))) since 2006's 'Altar' split with Japanese droners Boris. I'll stick my neck out here & say that this is the best release from these sludge-ridden heathens, topping personal favourite 'Black 1'. Yes i'll be honest, it took me a while for the whole Sunn/drone vibe to hit, but if it is ever going to happen for the curious, this will be the one that does it.

One of the most impressive things about this band is the way they take the limited format of the drone sub-genre & twist & stretch it into new & interesting shapes, making the next release different & just as refreshing as the last. 'Aghartha' starts out typically with riffs undualating beneath a wall of noise. Attila Csihar is on hand for the spoken word vocals, which give the piece such a menacing vibe it's scary. The track winds down until there's nothing left but the spoken word & some random samples including sploshing water. So far - so Sunn, albeit absolutely superb.

From here on in the album takes a different turn, with horns & a female choir joining the chaos on 'Big Church'. 'Hunting & Gathering' takes probably the most straight forward structure but again utilises creepy vocals & horns/trumpets. A very 80's John Carpenter-esque synth is also used throughout this track & rounds the whole thing off in spectacular fashion. Two listens later & this is possibliy my favourite track by the band.

Closing piece 'Alice' is the most experimental & uplifting of the four. The 16 odd minutes slowly builds with a frankly beautiful guitar tone, adding horns again & more twisted synth subtly incorporated into the mix. This track is the most beautiful of the bands repetoire & builds to a gorgeous free flowing jazz trumpet solo with splashes of synth & harps washing over it.

So less intense in parts, insidiously creepy in others but an all together amazing listen from the Southern Lord camp yet again. If your curious about what this band has to offer, this would be the place to start. Everything we know about Sunn o))) and much more besides.

Genius.

Sublime
Monoliths & Dimensions is not only a strong contender for the best Sunn O))) album but also it could well be one of the greatest records I've heard in the past few years.
The range of sounds that the band are willing to draw from has increased remarkably in that the album features a host of different instruments from string and brass ensembles to choirs to harps and more besides. It's a treasure trove of an album with each of the titanic four tracks featuring collaborations galore from previous Sunn stalwarts and fresh faces.
As the name implies it's a huge album, the artwork barely fitting the cover is a clue. At times towering and terrifying, Monoliths also has a few surprises up its sleeve in some of the more quieter moments.
The use of contrast on a Sunn album has never been more exciting or profoundly affecting.

Drone Alone
To be honest, I'm going to keep this short, the above review is pretty good and is a pretty valid description - the only thing I'll say is that I thought the "guest" vocal on track 1 was terrible and would've been vastly improved by removal. Aside from that though, this is a great album and would be a brilliant introduction to this band.